Vadim's Apple

I saw this very brilliant game recently. You might not recognize Vadim Zvjaginsev, who played Black, so here's some information about his chess career.

When he was only about 15, he played a game that was printed in many chess magazines. He sacrificed a slew of pieces (as White) on the king-side that ended in mate. About a dozen of his games made their way into the "Informant," and in many of these he sacrificed very brilliantly to win. In 1993 or 1994, he beat the great Vicktor Korchnoi in a game as White - in under 25 moves. In the Hoogovens / Wijk aan Zee / Steel Tournament one year later, he defeated GM Roberto Cifuentes-Parada (as Black) in a virtual cascade of sacrifices that ended in a Queen sac to set up an unstoppable mating net.

Anyway, in this game, Zvjaginsev gives up the exchange after about 20 moves in order to start an attack. On the 28th move, he plays an amazing shot and is able to infiltrate his opponent's king position. Fifteen moves later, a neat queen sacrifice forces Malakhov to resign.

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